Cities XL Modding
Modding is the action of modifying game files and 3D models in order to add or change gameplay mechanics. Modding is something that is done by the community rather than by the developer, even though most of the Modding projects are tolerated and even supported by the current Publisher Focus Home Interactive. Available Tools & Guides (How To Mod) Modding Guides The guides have been reproduced on this site with the intention to allow members to develop them further and as such create a community modding guide. *General Modding Guide *Building Technical Information *Character Technical Information *Vehicle Technical Information *Furniture Technical Information *Animation Technical Information *Model Modding (Oliver) *Guide - 3D - Viewer Setup in 3DS Max - Note, only currently works in 32 bit 3DS max 2008. *Bumpmap Modding Tutorial (Skimbo) *Texture Modding Tutorial (Skimbo) Official Mod Tools The official Cities XL modding site gives access to a plugin for 3DSmax, a 3D modelling tool, which allows 3D models to be converted to the Cities XL in game format. Unofficial Mod Tools Modification Manager (Rob) -- Tool for easy automatic install and updates of mods. Cities XL Pak-Explorer (Neidhard) Map-Editor (Neidhard) PakUnpacker/Repacker and Importer/Exporter (Arcadoli) Unpacker (Okeanos) Repacker How To Install Mods Either use the mod manager listed above (recommended) or if you're keen to do it yourself (there's nothing difficult as long as you understand how file systems work) then follow these instructions: # Make sure the game is not running. # Download the Mod you want. # If it is a zip/rar file then extract the ____.patch file(s) inside. # Move the _____.patch file(s) to: : 64 bit Operating System :: C:\Program Files (x86)\Focus Home Interactive\Cities XL 2011\Paks : or : 32 bit Operating System :: C:\Program Files\Focus Home Interactive\Cities XL 2011\Paks If the mod file is a ____.exe file (E.g. The Unlocker Mod 5) then you need to just run it as you would any program and follow the installation instructions... History Modding in Cities XL began in its infancy, starting with the Beta version of Cities XL 2009. A German user called Okeanos took some deeper looks into the game's files and began to program the first tools for unpacking game files shortly after that. As Cities XL was an MMO in those times, the release of the tools lead to a very controversial discussion on the German community site Cities XS . As most of the users there didn't want to see the Unpacker and Packager tools released, the Cities XS administrators Mudder and André090904 decided that the tools won't be released while Planet Offer (PO) lasts. This was considered a step in the wrong direction for Cities XL Modding. However, a small group of people which were picked up randomly by Cities XS administrators began to experiment and a secret Modding team began to develop some mods, which would never be released as it was considered dangerous for the PO. Even when PO ended in March 2010, Cities XS still refused to release Okeanos' Packager and Unpacker even though Okeanos wasn't active in the Cities XL community anymore. So a Cities XS user called haltendehand ''leaked both tools shortly afterwards, and was nearly banned from the site. All in all, the community finally had the tools needed to mod anything not related to building models. Over the next months, knowledge of how to open and edit both texture files and bumpmaps of buildings was revealed, but the community still wasn't able to edit the 3D model itself. Meanwhile the French website, Generation City, released their own version of a Cities XL Packager tool, called PakUnpak. When Focus Home Interactive '' ''announced Cities XL 2012 in early 2011, they also announced that modding tools will be included. Soon all players will have the capability to modify and create new 3D buildings in Cities XL. Development plan for this Wikia site Sections to come: Modding Index, Famous Modding projects '''Where to find mods.' Areas to include: *List of mods **Table to include: ***Mod name ***Author name ***CXL Version Compatibility ***Mod description ***Link to mod discussion ***Direct download link *Types of modding **New maps **Graphical **Gameplay Mechanic **Anything else anyone can think of *List of requested mods? *List of in progress mods? *Something to show mod incompatibilities? The idea is that the elements listed above won't be on this page, rather it will serve as an index to them, with some new categories, but this would then be a sensible first page to visit for anygbody who wanted to know anything about mods Category:Modding